Hoofharted
30th Oct 2008, 01:16
Remember to try this one next time things get tough:
Quote:
Quote:
Copilot 'passed out' before Garuda crash
By Jakarta correspondent Geoff Thompson and wires
Posted Mon Oct 27, 2008 8:35pm AEDT
Updated Mon Oct 27, 2008 9:56pm AEDT
Five Australians were among those killed when the plane slammed onto the runway at Yogyakarta airport.
Five Australians were among those killed when the plane slammed onto the runway at Yogyakarta airport. (Reuters: Pentak Lanud Adisucipto, file photo)
The copilot of the Garuda plane that crashed in Yogjakarta last year is now claiming he blacked out until the aircraft came to a halt in a rice field.
Five Australians were among those killed when the Garuda Indonesia Boeing 737 slammed onto the runway at Yogyakarta airport, careered into a rice paddy field and exploded in flames on March 7, 2007.
In evidence given to police, Garuda copilot Gagam Saman Rohmana said that his plane was flying too fast when in crashed in Yogjakarta.
He repeatedly told pilot Marwoto Komar to "go around" rather than attempt to land on the airport's short runway at almost twice the normal speed.
But appearing as a witness at the criminal trial of Captain Komar, Mr Gagam withdrew that testimony and now says he fainted at an altitude of 2,500 feet and did not wake up until the plane was already on the runway.
Komar is fighting charges he deliberately crashed the jet, which carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Mr Gagam said he found himself upside down when it came to rest in a ricefield.
"When I yelled go around, after that I passed out not long after that. I regained consciousness when the plane was already past the runway," he said.
"I don't know when Marwoto said that 'hey, something is not right' because I was already unconscious. So at that time there was no coordination between the pilot and I."
Gagam, who has failed to show up at two previous court hearings, appeared to be ill during his three-hour court appearance, and almost fainted during a break.
He said he was influenced by media opinion in his earlier comments, and admitted he was unclear about the chronology of events and did not read his police statement fully before signing it.
Indonesia's National Transport Safety Committee last year found Komar ignored 15 automated alarms before he landed at about twice the safe speed.
Gagam, dressed in his pilot's uniform, said the plane started shaking after he attempted to reduce the speed by lifting a flap, and he yelled for the pilot to go around again before landing.
"But how many times, and whether the captain listened or not, I don't know because I was already unconscious," he said.
He said both he and the captain were upside down in their broken seats when the plane came to a halt, before they managed to escape the smoke-filled aircraft.
Both men tried to help a female passenger who was trapped.
"At that time I asked Captain Marwoto [for both of us] to ask forgiveness to God," he said.
The hearing continues with testimony expected from security officers at Jakarta airport.
Quote:
Quote:
Copilot 'passed out' before Garuda crash
By Jakarta correspondent Geoff Thompson and wires
Posted Mon Oct 27, 2008 8:35pm AEDT
Updated Mon Oct 27, 2008 9:56pm AEDT
Five Australians were among those killed when the plane slammed onto the runway at Yogyakarta airport.
Five Australians were among those killed when the plane slammed onto the runway at Yogyakarta airport. (Reuters: Pentak Lanud Adisucipto, file photo)
The copilot of the Garuda plane that crashed in Yogjakarta last year is now claiming he blacked out until the aircraft came to a halt in a rice field.
Five Australians were among those killed when the Garuda Indonesia Boeing 737 slammed onto the runway at Yogyakarta airport, careered into a rice paddy field and exploded in flames on March 7, 2007.
In evidence given to police, Garuda copilot Gagam Saman Rohmana said that his plane was flying too fast when in crashed in Yogjakarta.
He repeatedly told pilot Marwoto Komar to "go around" rather than attempt to land on the airport's short runway at almost twice the normal speed.
But appearing as a witness at the criminal trial of Captain Komar, Mr Gagam withdrew that testimony and now says he fainted at an altitude of 2,500 feet and did not wake up until the plane was already on the runway.
Komar is fighting charges he deliberately crashed the jet, which carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Mr Gagam said he found himself upside down when it came to rest in a ricefield.
"When I yelled go around, after that I passed out not long after that. I regained consciousness when the plane was already past the runway," he said.
"I don't know when Marwoto said that 'hey, something is not right' because I was already unconscious. So at that time there was no coordination between the pilot and I."
Gagam, who has failed to show up at two previous court hearings, appeared to be ill during his three-hour court appearance, and almost fainted during a break.
He said he was influenced by media opinion in his earlier comments, and admitted he was unclear about the chronology of events and did not read his police statement fully before signing it.
Indonesia's National Transport Safety Committee last year found Komar ignored 15 automated alarms before he landed at about twice the safe speed.
Gagam, dressed in his pilot's uniform, said the plane started shaking after he attempted to reduce the speed by lifting a flap, and he yelled for the pilot to go around again before landing.
"But how many times, and whether the captain listened or not, I don't know because I was already unconscious," he said.
He said both he and the captain were upside down in their broken seats when the plane came to a halt, before they managed to escape the smoke-filled aircraft.
Both men tried to help a female passenger who was trapped.
"At that time I asked Captain Marwoto [for both of us] to ask forgiveness to God," he said.
The hearing continues with testimony expected from security officers at Jakarta airport.